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Top heavy? Weak at the bottom? Relatively unproven?
Those are all fair arguments to make about the B1G at this point. With four teams still unbeaten in conference play, there shouldn’t be any argument about the B1G’s top four teams. Michigan is No. 5 by default at this point. After that, however, the drop off is significant.
We still have a month to see if those notions will true. For now, though, the Week 9 B1G Power Rankings reflect just that:
14. Illinois (LW: 14)
Move it along. Nothing to see here. In case you haven’t heard, a record number of freshman will probably play football for Illinois on Saturday.
13. Minnesota (LW: 11)
When you only beat Illinois by a touchdown at home for your first B1G win, you move back to No. 13 on this list.
12. Rutgers (LW: 13)
Don’t look now, but Rutgers is on fire! Two wins in a row! In all seriousness, that wasn’t a bad Purdue team that Rutgers stymied. Holding a Jeff Brohm offense to just 12 points is an impressive feat. To the surprise of many, Rutgers actually ranks in the top half of all FBS teams against the run. That, more than anything, was what needed to change for the Scarlet Knights to win a game or two in B1G play.
11. Nebraska (LW: 12)
The Huskers got a chance to lick their wounds after the thrashing from Ohio State. The question is whether it’ll matter the rest of the way. Nebraska has to post a winning record in its final five games just to gain bowl eligibility. That’ll be easier said than done. How telling is it that Purdue opened as a touchdown favorite vs. Nebraska this weekend after losing to Rutgers?
10. Indiana (LW: 8)
I know what you’re thinking. Indiana is winless in conference play. Why aren’t the Hoosiers at No. 13? While win-loss is a factor in these rankings, it isn’t the only factor. IU’s four losses were to Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State. After having bad second halves vs. those first two teams, the Hoosiers were within a possession of beating both teams from the state of Michigan.
Say what you want about the program’s historical inability to close against quality teams, but that’s not the look of the 13th best team in the conference.
9. Maryland (LW: 10)
The Terps did something on this list that none of the teams ranked below them did. That is, they won a B1G road game at a place that wasn’t Illinois. Sure, Maryland let Wisconsin slip away down the stretch and it’s riding a 3-game losing streak. Are the Terps better than Indiana? Vegas has the Terps as a 4.5-point underdog at home to the Hoosiers this week. Needless to say, I’m not exactly in agreement with that.
8. Purdue (LW: 6)
In the middle of Purdue’s gut-punching loss to Rutgers, surely someone said “This is why you can’t have nice things, Purdue!” If someone didn’t say that, let me be the first. The Boilermaker offense somehow couldn’t do a thing against the suddenly stout Rutgers defense. Jeff Brohm might want to settle on a quarterback because Purdue’s offense lacks an identity entering the final month of the season.
7. Iowa (LW: 7)
Woof. That was for the Hawkeye ground game, which couldn’t muster anything yet again. Injuries hurt the Hawkeye front, but it’s still Akrum Wadley back there. There’s no reason that Iowa’s running game should be ranked 102nd in the country. It’s troubling that outside of a home game at Illinois, the Hawkeyes haven’t had 100 rushing yards in a B1G game. That needs to change in a hurry.
6. Northwestern (LW: 9)
It wasn’t pretty, but the Wildcats found a way to clinch their first winning streak of the season. Yet here they are at No. 6 on this list. For all the early-season struggles Northwestern had, those defensive issues appear to be fixed. Still, it all comes back to Justin Jackson. In Northwestern’s three losses, Jackson had 32 carries for 109 yards. In Northwestern’s four wins, Jackson had 101 carries for 494 yards. As he goes, so do the Cats.
5. Michigan (LW: 5)
I mean, what did we even learn about Michigan on Saturday? Perhaps we learned what the Wolverines defense looked like against a quality offense. It ran out of gas after responding nicely to Penn State’s quick start. Still, it was more of the same for a struggling Michigan team. It simply cannot pass its way back from a deficit, especially against a quality defense. Period.
The Wolverines still have Wisconsin and Ohio State on the schedule, too. For now, though, Michigan should have all its attention on a Rutgers defense that looked to be hitting its stride against Purdue.
4. Michigan State (LW: 4)
I thought Kirk Herbstreit brought up an interesting point about MSU on College GameDay. This team is not going to win blowouts. Unlike those Connor Cook teams, MSU isn’t going to light up the scoreboard and impose its will on teams.
But it is going to find a way to win plenty of ballgames, and that defense is going to keep things close. Amazing it is that MSU is 4-0 in conference play and it shares a division lead with Ohio State and Penn State. Who would’ve thought those matchups could potentially decide the toughest division in America?
3. Wisconsin (LW: 3)
Just another ho-hum 25-point victory for the Badgers. I’m already sick of the 2015 Iowa takes. The schedule simply has not worked out for a Wisconsin team that usually has a quality non-conference matchup. And by not worked out, I mean it hasn’t yielded any challenge yet. Now that Michigan is out of its division race, that showdown in Madison in mid-November isn’t quite as big, either. The Badgers can still make the Playoff by winning out, but get ready for all of those strength of schedule debates.
2. Ohio State (LW: 2)
How convenient that the Buckeyes lined up that bye week right before Penn State. They needed two weeks to prepare for a Penn State offense that will be — dare I say — even tougher to defend than Oklahoma. And on the flip side, we’re finally going to see just how improved the Ohio State offense is. Against a Penn State defense that has still yet to surrender 20 points in a game, that’ll be no walk in the park.
1. Penn State (LW: 1)
Only an idiot would’ve picked Michigan to cover the spread on Saturday (like me). I thought we’d see a lower-scoring game instead of Penn State trucking the Wolverines all second half. We saw why even when Barkley is contained in the running game — he only had 14 carries for 39 yards after that 69-yard touchdown — the Lions are still so dangerous. When Trace McSorley gets settled in, we haven’t seen a defense in the last year that could get him out of his rhythm. That, of course, will be put to the ultimate test at Ohio State on Saturday.
College GameDay will be in Columbus for what looks like the game of the year in the B1G. The real question is, can it live up to last year? Can anything?
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.